


Heart of Stone

by Yotsubadancesintherain5



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Canon-Typical Violence, Dimileth Week (Fire Emblem), Dimileth Week 2020 (Fire Emblem), F/M, Female My Unit | Byleth, Short Chapters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:09:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 1,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26972677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yotsubadancesintherain5/pseuds/Yotsubadancesintherain5
Summary: There were many ways for Byleth to love Dimitri.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 5
Kudos: 46





	1. Childhood AU

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Dimileth week 2020!

From a young age Dimitri would be brought along to the monastery for the various events. It would do him good to see the school that would, in time, become a huge part of his life.

Dimitri would see a girl his age, traveling the grounds with her mother. Her hair color was quite similar to Lady Rhea’s and it filled Dimitri with curiosity.

But the girl would hide behind her mother when she spotted him, only peeking out to look at Dimitri from a safe place. And so Dimitri did not seek out the girl, so that he would not make her uncomfortable. It was an astute observation for a child.

Over time, with each visit, the girl would no longer hide. However if she was in Dimitri’s presence she would not speak, and her name was a mystery.

Dimitri still appreciated the company, and the girl was not averse to playing with Dimitri. They would watch the students do their work, play in the pond, and run about in the market.

Dimitri’s young heart would be filled with anticipation every time he visited the monastery.

And one year the girl was gone and Dimitri never got a clear explanation. In time the girl became a fading childhood memory.


	2. May our hands cling forevermore

Dimitri could still feel the warmth of Byleth’s hands long after the dancing and chance meeting at the tower had ended.

The air had been warm and happy as they danced, and a softly insistent wonder within Dimitri thought of how she must’ve danced with the mercenaries on happy occasions.

Perhaps the dancing outside of the school was more wild and unrestrained, and that those sorts of dances seemed to be the pinnacle of human expression, but Dimitri hoped that if he ever participated he could still hold her hands.

There had been a very rare smile on Byleth’s face as they met under the moonlight, and she looked quite like the goddess that would surely bless those that met in the tower.

It seemed for a long while that that blessing never came to fruition, for the coming months dissipated anything warm and happy, entrenched in blood and war.

And on a fateful day, after a bloody battle and a great loss and the rain that poured down mercilessly, Dimitri was pulled away from his own demise and he remembered how warm Byleth’s hands were, and for a moment it seemed that the blessing was finally bestowed upon them.


	3. Fairy-tale

Once upon a time a mercenary named Byleth was out hunting. She came across a small boar, and she hesitated for it was so small.

It was fortunate that she did so, for the small boar was able to converse with her.

He called himself Dimitri and that by some magic he had been cursed into this form. He lamented that the cause for such a curse was became a golden plaything had been misplaced, and he was wrongly accused by the petulant magic caster.

Byleth took pity upon this boar and vowed to protect him. The seasons passed, and in that time Byleth heard that a prince in the nearby kingdom had disappeared, and he apparently vanished under a cloud of magic.

When Byleth told this story to Dimitri he fell silent for many days. On the seventh day he had enough courage to tell her the cure to this curse – but he hadn’t wished to put her in an uncomfortable position.

Byleth reassured him that this was her choice, and she pressed a kiss to Dimitri.

When she opened her eyes the missing prince was standing there, his hands in hers. Dimitri poured out endless gratitude to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The person who cursed Dimitri isn't a reference to anyone in particular, I just wanted to reference the golden toy that the princess in "The Frog Prince," loses in some way.


	4. My beloved

Whenever Dimitri called Byleth, “my beloved,” it sent shivers down her spine. In the moments when the atmosphere was not especially tender – such as at meetings – Byleth could swear that she heard Sothis laughing primly at Byleth’s warm heart.

Byleth knew it would have been an indulgent laugh, like a mother proud of her daughter, and that sort of thought made her reach out for Sothis in the recesses of her mind. Sometimes it felt like she had reached Sothis, but she was just barely out of reach.

So Byleth would tell her about Dimitri, her life, her friends, her fishing exploits and everything anyway. Somewhere, Sothis was listening.

On a certain day, when Byleth thought to give Dimitri a nickname as well, she could not consult Sothis on the best option for a pet name. Sothis probably would have teased her, making fun of humanity’s sentimentality, but would easily fall into rating the nicknames Byleth presented.

Byleth went over as many nicknames for Dimitri as she could and none that she compiled seemed to fit him quite right.

But the way that Dimitri looked at her whenever she called his name – it seemed that a pet name wasn’t necessary.


	5. Need

Sometimes the ache within would become too much and it would be like when the world was plunged into war, the great and looming despair that crept deep into Dimitri’s bones and festered in the marrow.

He would consult with his friends, soothe and reassure himself that they were alive and well. It was a need to remind himself that despite it all they survived.

But sometimes he was tormented by nightmares, fantasy and past memories melded together into a discordant torment.

There were two that caused his heart to sink into the depths of despair when he would first awaken, not knowing if it was truth. In them, the ones that escaped death were not so lucky, a reminder of how lucky they were to escape the clutches of death.

Dimitri could not bear dreaming of Dedue’s apparent sacrifice, a forced execution in Dimitri’s place. Dimitri would be forever grateful that Dedue was saved.

Dimitri could not bear reliving the earliest day of war, of Byleth falling off the cliff and swallowed up by the depths of the chasm. No one would have faulted him for believing she was an apparition. There was endless gratitude that she had survived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think of this chapter taking place after my NG+ playthrough, where I recruited everyone that could be recruited.


	6. Routine

Slowly but surely the days fell into a routine. There was war relief, new duties to fulfill, and Byleth always kept one eye open.

In this particular moment, when she awoke and saw that the morning sun had not yet risen, she lay back down and turned her body to face Dimitri.

She wondered, then, when it would be time for her to close that one eye. But if that was ever going to happen it would not be until far off in the future.

Dimitri knew how to fight off assassins but Byleth wouldn’t ever stop be cautious. He extended that same love to her, after all.

But for now – in this small window of time where it could be peaceful and fearless – Byleth moved closer to Dimitri and wrapped her arms around him.

In the morning the routine would begin anew and she would cherish that tender moment.


	7. Free Day - Kiss

It seemed only natural that Byleth would end up in the goddess tower after the war was over and the celebrations had quieted. She went up the steps with lightness and met Dimitri there.

It seemed like a repeat of the past meeting there on the night of the dance. They were older, were different in some ways and the same in others, but something that had stayed the same was spoken in the moment.

In that moment Dimitri reaffirmed his love to her there, a ring to accompany his words. In response Byleth presented the ring that she had kept close to her heart to him. The sight of it made him lose his voice for just a moment, a display of sweet awkwardness that was reminiscent of their time together five years ago.

Just the same, Byleth’s normally stoic face was graced with a small smile when she held out the ring with more conviction, to show to Dimitri that it wasn’t a dream and that she was serious. He seemed to break out of that daze, and they exchanged the rings. 

Byleth took Dimitri’s hands into hers and she kissed him, an unspoken promise on her lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this.


End file.
